7pm CF Diary: Latest developments in CF elections
CentreRight selections:
- Matthew Elliott is very supportive of the Tories pursuing an anti-politician strategy
- Jim McConalogue notes media silence on Europe.
- Dan Hamilton argues that Obama is a foreign policy lightweight
7pm: David Cameron's statement on Prince Harry: “Like all the troops currently fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan Harry has been incredibly brave. He has pursued his desire to get on the front line and serve his country with huge determination and courage. I applaud the British press for not breaking the story and risking his life and others around him.”
5.45pm: Commenting on the news that Prince Harry has been serving on the frontline in Afghanistan, Shadow Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, said: “It’s clear he wanted to do his duty and to carry out the work he was trained for. He is a brave young man amongst many brave men and women who are putting life and limb on the line for the security of our country. We are proud of them all.”
11.30am ToryDiary: Tories DO NOT plan to spend more on health than Labour
10.45am ToryDiary: Different messages for different newspapers
Seats and Candidates: Questions to MEP candidates
Throughout the day we'll be posting answers from candidates around the country:
ToryDiary: Coming soon - A daily poll of political insiders
Harry Benson on Platform: Would a wise woman pop the question tomorrow?
PlayPolitical videos: Protest on roof of Parliament at Heathrow expansion plans exposes security failings and McCain attacks Obama's promise to send troops back to Iraq if al-Qaeda establishes a base there after a US withdrawal
Become 'a friend' of the Conservative Party for as little as £1
Writing in The Times David Cameron explains how the new Tory recruitment drive is inspired by Radiohead.
Yesterday evening's ToryDiary profiled the Tories' new friends campaign.
"David Cameron put immigration at the heart of his election campaign for the first time last night. The Tory leader lifted a ban imposed under his leadership by using the "i-word" in a Tory advertising blitz that promises to tackle the issue." - Daily Mail
David Cameron persuades Tory MEPs to come clean on pay and perks - Times
'The Tory education revolution'
"Fraser Nelson reports on the radical Swedish system of independent
state schools, financed by vouchers, that has transformed the country’s
education performance and is now inspiring the Conservative party’s
dramatic blueprint for British schools." - The Spectator
Tebbit takes on the Cameroons
"Lord Tebbit has tonight launched a ferocious attack on David Cameron, accusing him of alienating voters and "planting the poisonous tree of Blairism" in his shadow cabinet." - Guardian
Yesterday's ToryDiary on the row: The Chingford skinhead mugs Michael Gove
Conservatives shift to a more positive approach to green issues
"The Conservatives unveiled a significant shift in their green agenda on Wednesday, admitting the public will swallow green taxes and restrictions on behaviour only if they are sugared with financial incentives." - FT
FT: Tories right to follow Labour's spending plans
"The Conservatives have tied their own hands over tax. They were right to do so. They volunteered to stick to Labour spending plans in order to banish a reputation for preferring tax breaks for the rich over high-quality public services. They have constrained their room to manoeuvre, but only for the first half of the next parliament at most. Like the pledge to make no unfunded tax cuts, this was a necessary step in electoral rehabilitation." - FT leader
But this is where Labour's spending plans are taking us: GPs' pay up 58% but work down 5% - Guardian
Andrew Lansley wants Tories to spend more on the NHS than Labour - Times
Times' survey highlights rising council tax and household bills
- "£1,374.26 Band D council tax bill for 2008-09
- £659 Annual household bill for landline and mobile phones
- 7.8% proportion of annual earnings spent on utility and council tax bills, up from 6.9 per cent in 1997
- 3.9% annual increase in Band D council tax
- 99.5% increase in council tax since 1997"
More in The Times.
Rod Liddle ridicules luvvies-for-Livingstone
"The battle to become Mayor of London is getting dirty. Someone from Boris Johnson’s campaign team — or maybe Boris himself — put a hilarious spoof letter in the Guardian this week. It purported to be from 100 ‘academics’, luvvies, lesbians and professional agitators, all of them aghast at the notion that the ‘right-wing and reactionary’ Boris might actually win. It was a quite brilliant work of parody — long-winded, witless, sanctimonious and marvellously self-important. What Boris had done, with panache, was exemplify the extraordinary arrogance and naivety of a certain tranche of liberal opinion. After all, who would give a monkey’s that Baldrick from Blackadder and some bloke called Ivor Gaber, the visiting professor of media studies at the Central Polytechnic of Dollis Hill or something, thinks that Ken should win the election? Well, clearly Baldrick and Ivor Gaber..." - The Spectator
"Scotland Yard has privately conceded that it blundered in launching an investigation into the alleged theft by Boris Johnson of a cigar case owned by Saddam Hussein's former deputy prime minister, according to sources." - Telegraph
The shadow of Mrs Thatcher still hangs heavy over the party of David Cameron - Steve Richards in The Independent
A third of Brown's Cabinet are campaigning against their own Government's Post Office closures when they impact their own backyards - Telegraph
Exclude tips from wages, Brown urged - Herald
Nick Clegg orders LibDems to abstain on Lisbon referendum - Times
Please use this thread to highlight other interesting news and commentary...
